REXANO Editorial by Zuzana Kukol, www.rexano.org
Las Vegas, NV, August 24, 2007—With elections, family holidays and spirit of giving season approaching, we can expect lots of solicitations from various politicians and charities. One of them will be ‘The Humane Society of the United States”, HSUS.
HSUS is an animal rights (AR) group that many confuse with local ‘Humane society’ shelters; however, Humane Society of United States is not affiliated with any of them. They are a powerful well funded AR group, who instead of helping shelters and animals directly, works hard on eventually removing pets from our homes, meat from our tables, leather goods from our closets and animals from zoos and circuses. Not only doesn’t HSUS help struggling shelters, they charge them between $4,000 and $20,000 consulting fee. What is especially disconcerting that HSUS, a group many expect to care about animal welfare is making money selling animal euthanasia manuals.
HSUS and Animal Liberation Front Connection
One of HSUS’s supposed ‘subject experts’ on animal cruelty is John Paul “JP” Goodwin, better known for his ties to the Animal Liberation Front, ALF, which FBI considers to be a terrorist group.
(http://www.furcommission.com/news/newsF03i.htm)
In his February 12, 2002 Congressional Testimony James F. Jarboe, Domestic Terrorism Section Chief, Counterterrorism Division, FBI, said: “During the past several years, special interest extremism, as characterized by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), has emerged as a serious terrorist threat.”
(http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm)
When Bernard Unti, senior policy advisor and special assistant to the president of HSUS, was asked by animal owners to explain Goodwin’s appointment to the HSUS ‘expert panel’, he replied: “I am sure that some of you would prefer to cast him forever in a negative light but it doesn’t work, as his turnaround reflects the success of the conventional approaches to advancing social change. We want to persuade those who used errant tactics in the past to adopt better and legal approaches. You too should celebrate this instead of forever harping on a youthful enthusiasm that was taking someone in the wrong direction.”
(http://www.bloggernews.net/19114)
Well, does that mean that if a child care owner hires a pedophile to watch the kids and parents complain, the child care’s answer should be not to worry, since the pedophile did it as a part of his ‘youthful sexual experimentation to find his true identity’?
Hurricane Katrina Donations
To the general public, HSUS gained a nationwide attention with their questionable tactics of raising money from pet lovers for the animals displaced during hurricane Katrina; the Louisiana Attorney General is looking into what really happened with 32 million HSUS raised.
( http://www.thekittyliberationfront.org/News-HSUS.htm)
However, this is not the first time HSUS used questionable tactics to get donations from donors who intended to help living breathing animals, only to use the donations to push for ‘feel good’ legislation that did absolutely nothing for the animals, or worse, in the long run, not to mention wasting tax payers’ money and Congressional time and resources.
Internet Hunting
A great example of HSUS’s questionable tactics of soliciting donations for non existent problems is to ban so called Internet hunting on federal and state levels. On their website, HSUS claims:
“We estimate that there are more than 3,000 canned hunting operations in at least 25 states nationwide, and by having the ability to use the Internet as a way of promoting this type of hunting, the numbers might even grow. Lawmakers are listening and are beginning to answer our call to action.”
However, as reported in August 10, 2007 Wall Street journal article “Internet Hunting Has Got to Stop — If It Ever Starts”
“…nobody actually hunts animals over the Internet. Although the concept — first broached publicly by a Texas entrepreneur in 2004 — is technically feasible, it hasn’t caught on………… With no Internet hunters to defend the sport, the Humane Society’s lobbying campaign has been hugely successful…. Even the National Rifle Association endorses the ban. “It’s pretty easy to outlaw something that doesn’t exist,” says Rod Harder, a lobbyist for the NRA in Oregon who supported an Internet-hunting ban that took effect in June. “We were happy to do it.”….
Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000
In 2000, HSUS was behind another ‘feel good” bill that is now a law, ‘Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000’, which prohibits imports or exports of dog or cat fur containing products into or out of the United States.
According to U.S. Customs and Border protection:
“The Act is a result of an 18-month undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) that exposed the widespread brutal slaughter of more than two million domestic dogs and cats each year by Chinese and other Asian manufacturers. The fur of these dogs and cats is commonly used in the manufacture of products such as fur coats, fur-trimmed gloves, hats, and figurines, which are then sold in the United States and around the world.”
(http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/dog_cat_protection.xml)
Even though HSUS solicited money for the cause in the name of protecting domestic dogs and cats, the fur mostly used is a raccoon dog, which is not a domestic dog. It is a wild animal, a member of the canid family (which includes dogs, wolves, and foxes). Since fur imported as coat trim is heavily chemically processed, there was no sure way in 2000 to even test if the fur was really dog or a wild animal.
Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007
Seems like banning dog and cat fur imports is not good enough, since HSUS is now pushing for another federal bill, “Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007”, which would add raccoon dog as prohibited fur import.
HSUS claims this act will:
“Protect consumers and animals by stopping the sale of fur from raccoon dogs—a member of the dog family sometimes skinned alive in China—and requiring all fur garments to be labeled. Recent HSUS tests showed that animal fur is frequently mislabeled or marked as faux fur.”
(https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2007_fur_labeling?qp_source=gac4ly)
There is still not sure easy and fast way to test and distinguish chemically processed and dyed domestic dog and raccoon dog fur. So once again, this is just another excuse for HSU$ to introduce feel good useless legislation which will accomplish nothing for the animals in China, but will bring donations to HSUS because it seems like on the surface that they are ‘saving dogs’ and that they care.
Regardless of whether you support or hate wearing fur, how will this bill protect the animals in China? Eating dogs is part of Chinese culture, whether we Americans like it or not. This bill didn’t reduce the demand on dog meat there or improve animal welfare conditions in Asia.
Chinese are not a wasteful nation, and rather then waste the animal fur after eating the meat, they decided to put the whole animal to use. Banning dog and cat fur imports to USA didn’t not change the Chinese food preferences or their culture, the dogs will still be killed and eaten like they were before, but their fur will go to waste. Instead, Chinese might end up killing more animals which they will not eat, but whose fur is still legal to export, thus, more animals might end up being killed because of this ‘feel good” bill, which brought lots of donation to HSUS from animal lovers who assumed they were saving Chinese dogs from torture. It also wasted taxpayers’ money and Congressional resources, but did nothing for the Chinese animals themselves.
HSUS claims their tests in 2007 showed that Nordstrom stores’ coats had real dog fur on them:
http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Fur-Test-Results-Public-Factsheet-25-results-FINAL.pdf
However, according to Consumer Smarts, the fur was legal and not a dog:
http://consumersmarts.ivillage.com/home/2007/03/faux_real_or_dog_fur.html
“Nordstrom had a third party test the vest using the worldwide standard protocol for fiber analysis-the American Association of Textile Chemist and Colorist (AATCC) 20A for Microscopic Fiber/Fur Identification-and it tested as coyote.”
Exotic Animals and Public Safety
This country also had lots of ‘animal rights’ legislation introduced to ban private ownership of exotic and wild animals in the name of public safety.
However, in the USA, only one person dies per year as a result of an attack by captive big cat, 1.5 by captive reptile, 0.81 by captive elephant, 0.125 by captive bear and 0 by captive non-human primate. Majority of the deaths happened to the owners and trainers themselves, which is an occupation hazard they voluntarily accept.
In 2003, HSUS’s ‘Captive Wildlife Safety Act’, CWSA, was introduced and was since signed into a law.
(http://www.fws.gov/laws/Testimony/108th/2003/Hogancaptivewildlife.htm)
It prohibits non commercial owners of exotic cats taking their bellowed pet with them across the state lines.
(http://www.bloggernews.net/19472)
According to US Fish and Wildlife Service , the agency responsible for implementing this HSUS proposed legislation:
“We recognize that a number of incidents involving big cat escapes and/or human injuries have been reported since December 2003. However, to our knowledge, many (if not most) of these incidents have involved owners who would be exempt under the CWSA and were not caused by, or related to, an act that would be prohibited under this law.”
(http://www.fws.gov/home/feature/2005/CaptiveQA.pdf)
A bill currently in Congress would add non human primates to the list of prohibited species.)
http://www.bloggernews.net/19046)
HSUS’s final goal is banning private ownership of all exotics.
And while they happily promoted and took donations for their “ Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act”, they kept pushing for bills that would ban people from taking their exotic pet with them across the state line, regardless of the reason (move, trip to the veterinarian, evacuation in the case of emergency).
Seems like if your pet is exotic, you might have to make a choice in the case of a natural disaster: break a law supported by HSUS, or leave your exotic pet behind.
Doesn’t seem like this bill is helping animals either, if anything, it will cause more animals to be homeless if pet owners can’t legally keep and move them to another exotic friendly state. Can you imagine the impact on domestic shelters if the Congress banned people from taking their domestic pets with them when moving across the state lines?
Treating domestic animals differently than exotics is a form of discrimination and ‘animal racism’ and shouldn’t be tolerated.
Horse Slaughter Prohibition Bill
The latest HSUS ‘pet project” is ‘Horse Slaughter Prohibition bill’ to “prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption, and for other purposes”. Just like the fur prohibition act, it does absolutely nothing to save horses and will in fact cause more animals to end up slaughtered.
US horse owners until now had a choice what to do with old horses: kill them themselves, pay a veterinarian to do it, or sell/donate them to a slaughter house. However, it can cost $100 to euthanize a horse; disposal is up the the owner. Cremation can easily cost about $1,200, while landfills can charge over $20 per ton, not including the transportation to the landfill.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/localnews/story/30238
There is no market for human horse consumption in USA, all the market is overseas, and the only users of horse meat in USA were zoos and other carnivore owners. Horse is a healthy lean meat for captive carnivores, such as big cats or birds of prey. Since majority of horse slaughter houses was horse meat for overseas human consumption, the horse act caused them to close. This act will not save any horses, as the horses used to go to slaughter house will still have to be euthanized, they were sent to a slaughter house because it was their ’time to go’ in the fist place.
This act did NOT reduce the demand for horse meat; it just shifted the supply side to Canada or Mexico horse processing plants that are more than happy to supply horse meat to Europeans or US zoo markets. Since demand stayed the same and US horses’ meat will go to waste, this act will increase the number of slaughtered horses in Canada or Mexico. The end result will be more horses ending up slaughtered than if the Horse act was never introduced in the first place.
America, the Land of the Free?
Even people who don’t own animals should realize that every time a new law is passed, the government powers and bureaucracy grow and our personal freedoms shrink. Many animal rights activists sensationalize exotic animal attacks and are presenting exotic animal ownership as a public safety issue to scare the public, but there are no facts to back it up. This fraud and fear mongering has to stop. The wild habitat of many animals is disappearing, and the only way to save them form extinction is captive breeding, with private individuals having the majority of captive habitat. Our legislators are sentencing wild and exotic animals to extinction by passing exotic animals bans.
Our Congress needs to stop listening to animal rights groups and wasting nation’s resources and tax payers’ money on feel good legislation. Our country is at war fighting International terrorism shedding our soldiers’ blood trying to bring freedoms to others, while our own government at home is removing freedoms of its own citizens. It is time to stop this insanity, time for legislators to do the right thing, no more HSUS bills.
Making a Real Difference
If HSUS really wants to help animals, they need to go back to their roots 50 years ago, help animals in shelters, which is what many donors expect them to do when sending a check. HSUS should put a self imposed 10 year moratorium on lobbying and legislation. They should, instead, financially help struggling shelters, finance adoption drives which would increase the number of animals adopted since many people don’t like going to sterile shelters or look in the eyes of death row animals they can not take home.
Rather than push for harmful mandatory early spay and neuter laws, HSUS could set up clinics offering voluntary low cost spay and neuter. Most people are not against spaying or neutering, what majority are opposing is ‘mandatory and ‘early” castration and hysterectomy.
This country doesn’t have online hunting or exotic animal problem, the animals in real need now are domestics in shelters and rescue centers, and if HSUS finally helps them directly, they can make a difference in the lives of real living and breathing animals that need their help RIGHT NOW.
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29 users commented in " Why is our Congress passing taxpayers’ money-wasting, ‘feel good’, animal rights bills? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackRe: the dangers of eating horsemeat.
In a nutshell, it’s like having a picnic at Chernobyl. A run-of-the-mill race horse in the US receives over 200 ’shots’ of various meds during its first half dozen years of life. Those drugs are, in almost every case, extremely toxic to humans. They’re intended to stay in the horse’s system and continue doing whatever it is they were designed to do. From accounts of slaughter the horses are terrified just before they meet their doom. That means the blood is pumping, the meat gets an extra-heavy dose of sheer poison.
I bought my daughter a horse a couple years ago. I should put the Vet on salary; he comes by every month or so with more shots. The horse threw my daughter the first time she tried to ride it, broke her leg. The horse apparently felt bad about it and promptly cut its neck wide open on a barbed wire fence. Another half dozen shots. (for the horse, not my daughter.)
One of the Canadian horse slaughter plants brays (pun intended) about their “Natural” products. Yeah, it’s natural, if you overlook all the chemicals shoved into the horse.
As most of the meat is consumed in Italy and France I’m not entirely opposed to them eating plenty. My guess is they’ll soon grow another foot.
It’s going to look funny, sticking out their forehead, but if they put a sock on it maybe nobody will notice.
US Horse Meat is Unsafe for Human Consumption
The main problem with slaughtering US horses for human consumption is that the meat is unsafe for human consumption because of the medications that horses receive. These medications are not approved for use in any food animals by the FDA and the USDA. The medications are legal for horses as they are not considered food animals by either of these agencies. If we are to continue to allow the 1% of the horse population to be slaughtered by foreign companies for human consumption overseas, then we must either 1) lose an estimated 70% of the current medications that US horse population receives so that the drugs do not enter the food supply or 2) implement a tracking system for the 9 million horses in the US, like the passport system that Great Britain has had to do recently, to ensure that these medications are not used in horses sent to slaughter.
Why is American horse meat unsafe for human consumption?
* Horses are not raised nor regulated as food animals in the US. They routinely receive medications that are banned from food animals such as Phenybutazone or “bute”, the aspirin of the horse world. Addition medications include Clenbuterol, Ivermectin, fluphanazine, fluoxetine, methylprednisone, dipyrone, gentamycin sulfate, ketoprofen, Regumate and Lasix — all clearly labeled, “Not for use in animals intended for food.”
What is the usage of bute in food animals in the US ?
* According to the FDA, there is no tolerance for bute in food-producing animals, and they and their by-products are condemned when it is detected. Dairy producers must not use this drug in food-producing cattle and if it is found, those producers will be subject to FDA investigation and possible prosecution. (http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/98fr/03-4741.htm). Since horses are not considered food animals in the US , bute is widely administered to horses by veterinarians and horse owners.
* The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (A National Food Safety Project administered through the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture) prohibited the extralabel use of bute in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older as of May 29, 2003 because of the likely adverse effect in humans. With this action the use of any phenylbutazone in an adult dairy cow becomes a violation of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and one of FDA’s highest regulatory priorities. (http://www.farad.org/prohibit.html). Again, this does not apply to horses because the FDA and USDA do not view them as food animals. Therein lies the issue. US horses are not raised nor regulated as food animals, yet 1% of the 9 million American horses ARE being slaughtered for human consumption overseas.
* Veterinarians should be in violation of their own AVMA law by administering bute and almost all of the other medications they give to horses — “Extralabel drug use is not permitted if it would result in a violative food residue or any residue that may present a risk to public health.” (http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct00/s100100a.asp)
What are the side-effects of bute?
* Phenylbutazone has been determined to be a carcinogen to humans by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).
* Phenylbutazone is also known for its ulcerogenic, nephrotoxic, and hemotoxic effects in humans. It is known to induce blood dyscrasias, including aplastic anemia, leukopenia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, and deaths.
Is bute ok for use in food animals in the countries where US horse meat is consumed?
* No. In the European Union, any horse that has EVER received bute in it’s lifetime is banned from entering the food supply. They have had to implement a costly and complex “passport system” in Great Britain (a country that is also overwhelmingly against horse slaughter) in 2004 to address this very issue for the 8,000-10,000 horses that go to slaughter for human consumption in the EU each year.
How is the collection of slaughter horses different from cattle?
* US slaughter horses are mainly purchased at auction through independent “killer buyers” contracted by the three foreign-owned horse slaughter houses in the US . The horses are bought from many owners across the country. There are NO medical records to go with these horses. In contrast, farm veterinarians are required to hold each cattle herd’s medical records for 2 years for trace back requirements of drug records, illness records, etc.
Aren’t there inspections on horse meat at slaughterhouses?
* Yes, there are random inspections of horse meat, but horses are not purchased from one owner in one herd like cattle are. They are bought from many owners at many locations and with no medical records. The horse slaughter houses would need to test EVERY horse to make sure they are free of toxic and carcinogenic drugs. This is NOT BEING DONE. At present, there can be NO ASSURANCE that US horse meat is safe for human consumption. According to our own laws, it is clearly illegal.
I find your compassion overwhelming. Are we not the stewards of our animals? Horses are not food animals and are not raised for human consumption. Do you think because the majority of Americans are against horse slaughter that the plants will just shut down? Or that animal cruelty will stop because someone tells them it’s wrong? People that wear fur coats don’t visit animal advocate sites. They don’t have a clue that they could be wearing someone’s pet. The only means to stop animal cruelty and abuse is through legislation. How do you suggest horse slaughter, animal abuse or cruelty be stopped without legislation? We need laws so there are consequences for their actions. It’s quite obvious the only way for the animals to have a voice is through legislation.
Its funny how foreigners come here to tell us Americans what to do and say they have rights to kill our Horses. Next the Asians will start a dog/cat slaughter house and a few sellouts like AQHA ,HCI, APHA, AAEP, AVMA will make profit and say its humane and does good for foreign trade. It will make Bushs plans to promote more illegals to the foreign plants in America to kill horse,dogs,and cats. Then they can ignore OSHA fines and volations too.They can also have us Tax payers to folk the bills for there Vets and Inspectors like Cavel already does. Then they can hire a few 6 grade education Truck Drivers to haul horses,dogs,and cats to slaughter plants from overbreeders for profits when they can’t sell the castoff breeds. Just like AQHA and APHA is doing today for there Overbreeders as long as everyone is making money its ok and humane.As more American jobs goes to Mexico while the illegals are coming here. Smart move bush… soon america will be mexico bush is already sending Mexican president chavas 800 million to1 billion to fight the war drugs.and have coninued to allow more troops to die for his dream war. which is now totaling over 3,500 dead. visit our site and see what Residents are doing to fight for America whats left of it.
Donate to a slaughterhouse? The slaughterhouses charge owners for horses that are actually old and sick. The only horses they pay for are the young, healthy ones.
The federal bill will also ban the export of horses for slaughter. There is a movement in Canada to shut down the slaughterhouses there as well.
This is not an HSUS bill. It is supported by the horse racing industry; the sponsors of this bill are from strong horse racing districts. Our horses are athletes, not meat.
Horses can serve many uses in society. We can ride them, love them, work them or eat them. Humans are omnivores. Horses are made of meat. We humans have been eating horsemeat ever since our digestive systems came to exist. This horsemeat ban becomes the first law ever to ban a wholesome food product. Although I have never eaten horsemeat, every time I help butcher a horse for the big cats I help care for, the lean, dark red meat meakes me drool. Horse slaughter can be done humanely, and in fact this is required by law. Animals do have a sixth sense, but if the slaughter operation is done right, by people who respect the life they are taking, this ’sixth sense’ doesn’t have to be a factor.
There are some 143 horse owners associations who are opposed to the horse slaughter bill. They recognize that these animals can be ‘recycled’, which is far better ecologically than euthanizing them. Think of horsemeat processing as euthanasia with the end product being useful.
We once had a horse owner who had an older horse with severe atrhritis. She brought it to a big cat facility I was involved in at the time. She comforted in its last moments, and then waited while we killed it. She subsequently sent us a $500 donation, and thanked us for doing what was spiritually right. The cats thanked us as well that evening, after getting generous portions of warm, fresh meat. I feel that this is more represenative of typical horse owners than the stories being told here by others.
The reason a lot of people believe that Americans are against horse slaughter is because they believe what PETA, HSUS and other animal rights groups have told them. They have never bothered to check the facts for themselves.
When I can get some, I plan to add horsemeat to my diet.
The other thing to consider is that the AR movement want to ban all meat consumption. Begin with something esoteric, like horsemeat. Then more and more common meats until we are a vegan society. then, with no good protein to keep our brains working, we will be siting ducks. The US will be easily invaded (by a meat-eating army!) because no one there thinks anymore.
What do the animal rights groups tell us, anyway? Telling us that we’re wrong all the time is the same thing as telling us nothing. But if we’re wrong all the time how can we even know if the sun has come up?
“Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.” Genesis 9, verse 3
Different cultures eat different meats, but all living things were given us for food. I personally don’t eat beef or pork…or horsemeat…but that is my choice, and every American should be free to make that choice for themself.
In a nutshell, Horses that are killed “for human consumption” are done so by captive bolt euthanasia, so as to NOT add lethal penotbarbitol into the meat. Horses killed “humanely”, are toxic to wild animals, captive exotics, and family pets that may accidentally eat them. THERE IS NO USDA TOXICOLOGY OVERSIGHT FOR RENDERING PLANTS!!! For those of you that fail to comprehend the ramifications…130,000 + horses a year will have to be “disposed of” within several hours of euthanasia (as per EPA and local regulations)and the meat will likely end up being buried where it could be toxic to the environment, or rendered where it will end up in animal food!. Pentobarbitol was detected in commercial pet food TEN YEARS AGO, even though few horses ended up there. I personally believe the campaign to end horse slaughter is an H$U$ plot to contaminate the pet food supply, bankrup the pet food industry with lawsuits, make feeding pets difficult for the average busy owner, and end PET OWNERSHIP!!! In case you think I’m just paranoid, it will also move horses into the “companion animal” /pet category, taking them out of USDA livestock jurisdiction, removing their minimum “per pound” value, and set the stage to change how other livestock/food animals are defined. In Illinois, (where Cavell International,the last remaining slaughter house was located) the “Humane Care Act” already classifies them as “companion animals” at the state level…Get a clue and do the extensive research, as I have done - before it’s too late!@
OK, you have very few facts to be spewing, so let me fill you in.
First of all- none of the so called humane societies in the US are affiliated by much of anything and the majority of them are kill facilities- they are
marketedly different than their no kill counterparts, but still serve a function The fact that HSUS has leanings towards more animal rights issues- is
because they are at the forefront of the humane movement and the other folks
haven’t caught up-
I do not agree with all that they do- and in many cases they are too conservative for the likes of me- but one of your facts is completely and utterly written in ignornace. I for one just spent a 7 day week volunteering
for a program they have called RAVS which is paid for and sponsored by HSUS
-going to rural areas and supplying FREE vet, spay and neuter service to
rural and native populations. This is a huge undertaking and is hugely
appreciated by poverty stricten people and rescue people in those areas. So
while you paint your brush of condemnation so wide and far and expect
HSUS to solve it all for you, I ask when is the last time you donated
more an a mouthfull of crap about an issue and actually worked a 100 hour
week for FREE for someone or something other than your self?
The H$U$ like other AR organizations makes use of “unintended consequences.” Just piss in the well and no one wants to drink from it, and they say they just had to use the bathroom.
We’re going to have to treat them as just another kind of bad weather and sail right through.
blah blah blah…..what trash of an article!!!! horsemeat is not safe and horse slaughter is not humane…..and never will be….and never was….horses are our pets and companions and do not deserve to be treated like this……
Timbalionguy, you may want to eat horsemeat, and that’s fine, but don’t get caught because it’s illegal here.
Let’s take a look at but one of the associations you mention. The AQHA. They are notorious for overbreeding and what a surprise, the majority of horses going to slaughter are quarter horses. When the federal legislation was introduced, this year, the foal counts were 144,000 quarter horses, 23,000 thoroughbreds and 11,000 standard breds. Many of the associations that are pro slaughter have deep roots tied to the cattle and Ag industry. Of course, they’re against the ban. The cattlemen feel threatened. This is strictly about horse slaughter. I’m sure there are groups out there that want all meat ban but that is not what the anti horse slaughter movement is about. HSUS is not calling for a ban on meat. When they have targeted the beef industry it is to make the factory farming and slaughter more humane. I belong to the HSUS and I have never seen an email, communication or press release calling for a ban on meat.
When you had your arthritic horses put down, I’ll bet it wasn’t by captive bolt. If you had a vet humanely euthanize your horse, you did the right thing. What you did with his body afterward, is immaterial. You and your animal were together when he was put down. You didn’t send your animal on a torturous transport and then a brutal death by captive bolt that was designed for cattle.
I’d like to dispute one statement of yours. We are not AR, we are advocates for equine welfare. There is a big difference. We do not want to ban all meat. Most of us are meat eaters. This is strictly about horse slaughter. The meat is illegal in the US and that’s because horses are not viewed as livestock. They are not raised as food animals like cows and pigs. If foreign companies want to slaughter and eat horse meat, that is their business. Everyone has their culture and we are not about to try to change the world. What we are trying to do is stop them from killing our horses. We do not go to their countries and slaughter their cattle and they have no business coming to our country to slaughter our horses. They do not follow our laws or pay taxes, they hire mostly illegals and ship their products and profits overseas. Don’t you think if there was a need for a slaughter in the US, a US company would have opened one?
vicki, why is a captive bolt gun ok for cattle but not for horses? Are horses somehow not a grass eating quadaped just like a cow? You can ride a cow too, just looks silly. Horses are livestock, just as cows, and are not spiritually any different and do not deserve anything greater then any other livestock. It doesnt matter that horses “are not bred for meat” Neither are holsteins but they arent wasted when they are too old to produce milk. NO animal should be wasted if it can be helped. The “purpose” of an animal matters little. Every animal has a different purpose to different people. If a horse cant be eaten, why is it such a big jump to say cows are next? After all they are equally as intellegent. Just because you find them cuter matters little to the quality of meat they can provide. Perhaps you should rally for humane transport. Maybe you havent seen a bolt gun, or know how they work. Its actually alot quicker then euthenasia by injection.
No offense vicki, but i seriously dont know which one of these are worse. This bill itself that the HSUS is trying to push through, or you working with HSUS and actually thinking they are not a powerful animal rights group, and rather are for animal welfare.
Just consider this for a second…
Animal welfare = Keeping the elephants in the circus, and making sure they are treated humanely.
Animal rights = Eliminating the use of the elephants in the circus, and making this the law.
The HSUS would rather completely eliminate the use of animals in todays circuses, they will take the few very bad trainers out there that get caught (and yes they do exist, no doubt about that) and paint the picture that all circus elephant trainers treat their elephants this way. These ridiculous claims made by the HSUS are just as far form reality as saying that *all* drivers on the road drive drunk and are putting us at risk. Dont believe me?, just click on this link and you’ll see what i mean.
http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/circuses/circus_myths.html
I suggest you do some searching around on the net to find out about what HSUS is really all about because you obviously don’t know what their final goals really are, to end the use of captive animals in todays society. You read that right, zoos, responsible exotic pet ownership, factory farming, the use of fur, etc etc etc etc etc. and this bill is no different. you seem to missing the one point that timbalionguy made, the value of what horsemeat has to offer for large captive carnivores, such as larger felines. Does this not matter to you?
Anyways, lets let back on topic here with the main issue regarding this bill.
Remember what i said? HSUS doesn’t want to make sure that the slaughter of horses in the US is done humanely, they just want an outright ban on it. Dont believe me? well just take a look here.
http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/citizen_lobbyist_center/help_end_horse_slaughter.html
After you finish reading through that, just look at the text in that last URL i sent…. think that through very thoroughly.
tw, The captive bolt was designed for cattle. It is not as effective on horses for two reasons. Horses are flight animals and do not stay still. For the bolt to be effective, it has to be a direct hit. More importantly, horse’s brains are set further back than cattle and quite often, horses are fully conscious when slaughtered. Horses are not raised as food animals as is livestock. They are given medication from birth clearly labeled “not for food animals”. Horses are raised as sport, work and companion animals. They race, they perform, they carry our mounted police, they are used in therapy, particularly with children and they are our companions. Perhaps there are those that want to take on the cattle industry. The horse anti slaughter movement is about horses only. Horses are viewed as pets and we do not eat our pets in the US. What is to stop China from opening slaughter houses here to slaughter our dogs and cats? After all, there is market for them overseas, as well. We do not eat dogs and cats, nor do we eat horses.
lionguy, you are correct and no offense taken! The HSUS and the anti slaughter groups are calling for a total ban on horse slaughter for reasons I have previously stated. Although I’m an animal lover, I have not been involved in campaigns as deeply as I am with horse slaughter. I have not done much research, other than the China fur trade so I will defer to you. For as many years as I can remember, groups like the HSUS have been calling for more humane treatment of circus animals. It’s not happening so I’m assuming that’s why they’re calling for a total ban. The groups have also been trying to educate consumers of fur coats as to what goes into the making of their fur and most recently, the use by China of dogs and cats. I personally find it appalling and have been minimally involved. As the officials in China have said, as long as there is a market for the coats, they’ll continue to produce. If people stop buying, the market will dry up since the US is one of the largest consumers. We can write all the letters we want but as long as they can make money, it will continue. With horse slaughter, the market will not dry up overseas and the only way to stop the killing of our horses, is through a total ban in the US that bans the transport out of the country. It’s sad that we have to legislate humane treatment but when money is involved, the almighty dollar always wins.
so you think that because you are a horse lover (nothing wrong at all with that) that no one in the united states has the right to consume horsemeat if they choose to do so, or obtain it for the purpose of feeding captive lions, tigers etc? This bill you are supporting basically would make this illegal in the US.
Im sorry vicki, i don’t want to sound rude, but what you said basically makes absolutely no sense. If you want to contribute to the humane treatment of animals, please try donating to your local animal shelter instead.
I wish that those that favor the slaughter of horses would spend a day at two slaughter houses, one for bovines, one for equines. Then they will see the difference in how the animals are killed using the same method. Then come back and post your findings. Let me know if the cows scream, okay? I know the horses do.
First of all, to Vicki: We killed the horse with a gunshot. Death was instantaeous. In case you have never seen an animal killed, but only heard stories, they can flail around for a few seconds. That is because a lot of movement is controlled by centers in the brainstem and spinal cord, and they malfunction when the brain is essentially liquified by the gunshot. That is not the same thing as being alive. That horse never knew what hit it.
This business about captive bolts not killing a horse has to be fiction at its best. A captive bolt design can be built that will effectively kill a horse, and I am sure that is what the horse slaughterhouses use. Don’t believe everything you are told. (I am an engineer, and am currently designing a facility to slaughter large animals. You can bet that there won’t be any ‘horror stories’ coming out of that facility! I care very much about animals, even if they are being prepared to be eaten.)
As far as being illegal to eat horsemeat, you must be in California. A state where the environmentalists and tree huggers are so powerful that they can’t even paint proper center stripes on the roads. youc an be fined for not diluting your windshield waser fluid. and where it si a FELONY to eat horsemeat on the second count. Felonious crimes are usually reserved for those crimes which do great harms to people. Yet, many people in California go whizzing by, 20 miles over the speed limit, in their SUV’s, quite possibly rushing to stop a child from stomping in a mud puddle with endangered shrimp in it. (Do a search on ‘vernal pools’, and see I am not making this up!)
I live in a place that is not yet choked with so many laws and taxes that I actually have some freedoms left, including the freedom to eat just about any animal I choose. And, I want it left that way!
That’s what these so-called conservationists are really about. Timba, you should read Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, and Fallen Angels by the same author. I keep these books on hand. Gives phony environmentalism what-for.
Even if we have horror stories, nature is rough. Humans can often take the edge off of the roughness. That’s the way that I feel about it, that we have brains and hands for a reason and that we are meant to be a part of it all.
Good luck with the job, Tim.
Vicki, the HSUS is just another group that tries to take away all use of animals and all meat consumption by humans.
RE: Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Act
If a non-profit organization only aims to rescue a couple of animals from the streets rather than aligning a country’s laws with its citizens’ values, there will be no future for these animals because hundreds, thousands, or even millions more will suffer. Addressing the root of the issue is the most effective method and should be any non-profit organization’s aim. Why save only a couple of dogs or cats when you can help stop the whole trade, where millions of dogs and cats suffer and die, by closing the door on cruel products? There are, no doubt, many issues in a country, or in the world that need to be addressed. Everyone differs in what is considered the priority. What seems like a waste of time from one’s perspective could mean time well spent from many other individuals’ points of view. A non profit organization, whose priority is to stop (not clean up after) animal cruelty, should not be criticized for helping implement animal protection laws. This is like criticizing a farmer for farming, or a teacher for teaching.
Nee Eden, Thank you for those very powerful words. You made a very strong point. As for the group who loves linking HSUS sound like some kind of radical group, perhaps they need to look into the mirror and do some more research other than the one site that started all of the malicious, uninformed slander toward the HSUS. They are very much affiliated with the local humane societies and they do step forward when needed with financial aid to those same organizations.
Money and demand for those so called gourmets who consider horse meat a delicacy… it has nothing to do with the wellbeing of the animals themselves. The pro slaughter groups tend to make the slaughter of these animals sound like they are performing a service to society and they’ve also painted a picture of thousands of horses being abandoned and lining the streets… funny, I haven’t seen any of these abandoned creatures… must have been a lie, huh? The fact is that consumption of horse meat is illegal in ALL of the states in this country. The fact is that horse meat is not used in pet foods and that the zoos are abandoning it in favor of beef and bison. The fact of the matter is that horse slaughter is driven by the cattlemen’s assn. and the meat packers assn. and anybody who is making a buck from the death of the horses … Funny, that the AEVP in one breath refers to horses as companion animals and in the next says it’s ok to slaughter them for meat. That is a bit of hypocracy in my opinion. Funny that the AMVA is headed up by a member of the Cattlemen’s Assn. and that they also put a puppet up who didn’t sound like she knew the front from the back end of a horse. I hope that Mr. Engineer does succeed in designing a slaughter house that is more humane to the animals that are destined to enter it. He or she must be up in Canada because that is where they use a 22 rifle to shoot the horses before they bleed and butcher it. The US primarily uses the captive bolt and Mexico stabs the animal in an attempt to cut its spinal cord, rendering it paralyzed from the neck down before they cut its throat and butcher it. Yes, I’ve done my homework and tried to look at it from more of a technical point of view. I don’t want to tell other cultures what they can or cannot eat but I certainly don’t want them coming into this country telling us that our laws are unconstitutional when they pay no taxes and their profits go right back into their own country being of no benefit to this country’s economical structure. Who do they think they are telling us what to do on our own soil? I, personally, hope that the bill passes and that our lawmakers can get on with other business and people can get on with their lives. This is a hot seat issue and should be given as much consideration as anything else. That’s it in a nutshell.
Wow Terri. Truth isn’t slander. The H$U$ isn’t about animal protection but animal elimination. They will keep chipping away until nothing is left.
“This is a hot seat issue and should be given as much consideration as anything else. ”
War, child abuse, hunger, poverty, the list is long. Its revolting you’d put this bill on par with much more serious problems. It just reveals again that animal rightists only have compassion for non-human life.
If the consumption of horse meat is already illegal in all 50 staes, why do we need another law? I would also like to see a reference to where it is stated that the consumption of horsemeat is in fact illegal in all 50 states. Last I heard, it is just two.
To me, horsemeat is not ‘gourmet’. It is basic food. My body type requires me to be on a heavily carnivorous diet, and I enjoy eating a variety of meats.
Horses are already simply being released because of the slaughter bans, or proposed bans. It is becoming a serious problem in Kentucky. Here in Nevada, the wild mustangs we all enjoy watching here are getting too populous in some spots. Eventually , we may need to hunt some of them out to reduce dangerous car wrecks, etc.
I can horses as both companions and as food (and beasts of burden). There are enough horses for all these uses. And in case you are wondering, I am a big cat keeper, but I support things like tiger farming because conservation of a species often benefits from some consumptive use. (And of course, I believe farming of any species needs to be done in a humane and respectible way.) Horses have additional value to society if they can be eaten when they grow old. Removing this option makes them less valuable to society, and could limit their continued propagation.
Eating these horses also helps the environment by not loading it up with buried bodies. The circle of life demands that animals be ‘recycled’. If a wild horse dies, scavengers have a major feast on its body, leaving little behind to contaminate the environment. Whats wrong with meat-eating humans doing the same thing? You may also be interested to know that unlike our other common meat animals, the best horsemeat comes from older animals.
lionguy, horse meat is already illegal for human consumption in the US. The federal bill will ban the transport of horses to slaughter which in essence, shuts them down. What I wrote makes perfect sense. What don’t you understand – I’d be happy to discuss with you.
timbalionguy, a gunshot, in familiar surroundings was a humane thing to do. Your horse didn’t suffer. A captive bolt designed for cattle does not provide instantaneous death. Take a look at the anatomy of a horses head and a cows head. You’ll note the brain is set quite a bit further back in horses. All three kill houses (although two are closed) use the same captive bolt that is used on cattle. There is no captive bolt that was designed for horses. If you did a little research, you would know this. I am not a tree hugger and I live in Illinois. Horsemeat for human consumption is not legal in the US. I have never been to California so I will take your word of what you described. You didn’t mention that CA has a total ban on horse slaughter, including the transport. Did you know that when the ban went into effect, the horse thefts dropped 34%? Eat whatever you wish. I only pointed out that horse meat for human consumption is illegal. Haven’t you noticed that you can’t buy it anywhere in the US? Don’t you think that if it was legal and there was a market for it here that there would have been US owned slaughter plants? Instead, we have foreign owned plants that ship their products and profits overseas. They don’t pay federal tax and snub their noses at our laws. They challenge our laws and waste our hard earned tax dollars in the federal court system. I would think that would upset you more than not being able to eat horse meat.
tomK, I would agree with you if you had said PETA. They are way too radical for me and are living in dream land if they think they can take on the beef industry. We’ll have to agree to disagree on HSUS.
Timbalionguy, I didn’t see your other post when I posted. We need another law because the law only prohibits the sale in the US. I’m sure when the law was passed it was intended to stop horse slaughter. But Belgium and France always find a way around our laws. In 2005 we passed legislation to remove funding for the USDA inspectors. No inspectors, no horse slaughter. Wrong. Once again, Belgium and France found a way around that. They started paying for the inspections. The HSUS went to court and had the 2005 legislation upheld and shut down Cavel. Of course, they appealed and that appeal is still pending. Then we passed a law in Illinois and shut them down, again. Once again, they were back in court, appealing our law. The district court upheld the law and now their appeal is pending in the 7th circuit court of appeals. The three judge panel’s decision is expected any day. The only way to stop them is by passing HR 503 and S 311. It will stop the transport in the US and stop the transport to Canada and Mexico. If you’d like to read just how resourceful and devious they are - http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2007/08/081.shtml
You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your blog.
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